About us

DJH: One for all and strong together

The organisation: One for all

The German Youth Hostel Association – Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk in German, or DJH for short - is a one-of-a-kind organisation. Its fundamental concept of being a place for the peaceful encounter of young people from all over the world is as up to date as ever.

The Federal Association: Primary responsible

The Federal Association has its office in Detmold. Its fields of responsibility include, among others, public relations and marketing, and it also acts as a representative of the Association at the national and international level.

The Regional Associations: Stronger together

The 14 Regional Associations take care of the construction and operation of and staff in Youth Hostels and put together the programmes offered by the Hostels.

Committed to the common good

The German Youth Hostel Association is the only supraregional non-profit provider of accommodation that is open to all children, adolescents, young adults, families and educationalists for congresses or stays. Youth Hostels are oriented towards providing children and youngsters with valuable experiences and fulfilling educational tasks.

With their primarily educational approach, the German Youth Hostel Association's regional organisations act as competent and reliable partners for schools, teachers and parents.

The Regional Associations are independent non-profit associations and fulfil all the tasks of the German Youth Hostel Association within their own area, unless tasks have been expressly assigned to the Federal Association in the statutes. These include, among others, the construction of new Youth Hostels or putting together activity programmes.

There are 14 DJH Regional Associations all together: Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin-Brandenburg, Hanover, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Nordmark, Rhineland, Saxony, Thuringia, to name just a few.

Unique, sustainable, structured

A unique association

The German Youth Hostel Association (DJH) is a one-of-a-kind organisation. Its fundamental concept of being a place for the peaceful encounter of young people from all over the world is as up to date as ever.

A sustainable association

The German Youth Hostel Association (DJH) supports Agenda 21. The Agenda's goal is to ensure the sustainability of our livelihoods and chances for development for current and future generations.

A structured association

The German Youth Hostel Association (DJH) consists of the organisation at the Federal level, the associations at regional level, local and district associations, the individual Youth Hostels and its 2 million members.

Youth Hostels are international, and marked by an open and tolerant atmosphere that includes everyone. International youth exchanges in Youth Hostels promote social learning, tolerance, and international understanding. Becoming a member of the German Youth Hostel Association gives you access to a global network of about 4,500 Youth Hostels.

A large number of Youth Hostels have developed a special range of offers. Youth Hostels with a profile, such as the "Environmental|Youth Hostels," "Sport|Youth Hostels," "Family|Youth Hostels,""Cultural|Youth Hostels," and "Feel Good|Youth Hostels" work with their own quality management systems to cater for various groups of guests.

Numerous Youth Hostels offer special services for different groups of guests. People with a disability are particularly welcome – almost all Youth Hostels have areas that are particularly suited for people with mental or physical disabilities.

Families with children are very welcome in Youth Hostels. A large number of Youth Hostels have won a special certification as being "particularly family-friendly," offering accommodation and food that is particularly suitable for families plus leisure programmes usually preferred by families. But all families are met with a casual and child-friendly atmosphere in every Youth Hostel.

Youth Hostels offer a broad variety of programmes with holistic concepts for every target group. Programmes are carried out with our own trained staff or with local cooperation partners with the respective qualifications. Youth Hostels provide space for educational experiences. This makes them places that actively support and facilitate social, academic and extracurricular learning.

Youth Hostels are managed by trained educationalists and service-minded, professional employees. The German Youth Hostel Association offers an internal continued education scheme to ensure staff qualification and service quality.

Even in the lower price bracket, Youth Hostels offer good rates. Offering great value for money, they are ideal for school and class trips, group or family holidays. Normally, the use of common rooms is free of charge in Youth Hostels for any larger group.

Offering no more than a basic bed of straw in its early days, the German Youth Hostel Association (Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk, DJH) provides modern accommodation with an added value today, helping to spread the ideals of youth hostelling around the globe.

Detmold, Germany. It all started with a bold idea on a cold, stormy night. The idea was to get youngsters out of the big cities and put them back in touch with nature and its wonders in a way that was far from the strict daily routines of school, even for several days in a row, by providing them with a safe place to spend the night. On 26th August 1909, teacher Richard Schirrmann and his class got caught in a storm during a long hike, and it was only by pure chance that they managed to find makeshift shelter in an empty school building. That was when he came up with the idea and the name linked to countless personal memories today: Youth Hostels. Over the decades, his bold idea has turned into a true success story. Today, 111 years after its inception, Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk has almost 2.5 million members, making it one of Germany’s biggest non-profit organisations. It runs 450 hostels, where the unique idea continues to come to life every day through the sense of community experienced in the houses. Tolerance, open-mindedness, inclusion and environment protection are practiced in many different and creative ways.

Despite its age of 111 years, the spirit of Hostelling is as up-to-date as ever. Could Richard Schirrmann have imagined that his idea would span the globe when he opened the first Youth Hostel at Altena castle in summer 1914? It soon did, quickly surpassing the borders of its place of birth. Today, it inspires travellers from around the world: In 2020, over 4,000 Youth Hostels are open to travellers in more than 90 countries. As the largest hostelling association world-wide, DJH has long since supported the foundation of new hostelling associations across the globe, always happy to provide advice and a helping hand to friends of the hostelling idea. The non-profit association also promotes cultural and social exchange among young people by hosting international youth exchanges.

A lot has changed over the past 111 years in the Youth Hostel’s native country: squeaky bunk beds, itchy woollen blankets or curfews before sundown have long been a thing of the past. Instead, DJH Youth Hostels have stepped into the future, with new developments in various areas.

How to get there: The sustainable way

In the early years of hostelling, the question of how to get there was hardly given a second thought, as the whole idea of hostelling was based on the hiking movement. So, for decades, the way to get to a German Youth Hostel was to lace up your hiking boots, shoulder your rucksack, and go! Up to the end of the 1950s, the classic way of getting to a Youth Hostel was by using your own muscle power: travellers hiked, cycled or even came by boat to hostels that were located on the waterfront. “Motorised hikers” were frowned upon. Over the course of the years, attitudes changed, not least in view of increasing motorisation, and coaches became an ever more popular means of transport for school or group trips to Youth Hostels. Today, guests often ask about parking facilities for their car. Many Youth Hostels don’t provide parking spaces as DJH wants to motivate its guests to choose the most climate-friendly option to get to their destination. For instance, DJH members are entitled to reduced train fares. Coaches are, of course, always a great way for school classes or larger groups to get to a Youth Hostel, even if parking may not be available right in front of the entrance.

The food we serve: Variety is better

Simple, but good. That’s how you could characterise the food served in Youth Hostels in the old days. In the beginning, meals would usually even prepared together with the guests, or guests were expected to lend a helping hand in the kitchen if they wanted a hot meal on their plates or in their lunch pail – not least to promote a sense of community. That’s why, until today, guests at Youth Hostels still clear their own table after a meal or make their own beds. However, no guest is expected to peel potatoes or cut onions anymore, and the choice that’s on the menu is a far cry from the old days, too. There is something for everybody, and staff is always happy to cater to special dietary needs, such as allergies or intolerances, or to special requests. Many Youth Hostels have introduced a veggie day, support regional suppliers and producers, and serve up true highlights: culinary speed dating, a sushi bar, a star chef at the stove, family cooking courses, fasting hikes, nutritional or herbology courses are just a few examples. By the way: Youth Hostels still serve the traditional rose hip tea, but nowadays, they also offer a huge range of alternative flavours – and run bars and bistros offering unusual coffees or cocktails

More isn’t always merrier: Why there are fewer Youth Hostels today

By the end of the 1920s, there were over 2,300 Youth Hostels across Germany. These Hostels clearly didn’t compare to today’s standards. Often, they were no more than straw beds in “makeshift shelters,” located, for instance, in village schools that were closed for the holidays. Today, the German Youth Hostel Association runs about 450 hostels. Has interest in them dwindled? Are guest numbers going down? No, that’s not the reason why there are fewer. Rather, the decreasing number of hostels reflects a societal development. In the early days of Youth Hostels, the goal was to make sure there was never more than a day’s hike between two hostels. Hiking was the number one popular activity, and young people joined clubs and groups to discover their country on foot. But over the years, the enthusiasm for hiking wore off, and many Youth Hostels were closed as they were no longer needed. What hasn’t changed, though, is the enthusiasm for the Youth Hostels themselves. Every year, about 10 million overnight stays are booked at DJH Youth Hostels, and the association’s number of members is also growing constantly.

Youth Hostel Managers: A passion, not just a profession

One thing that hasn’t changed over the past 111 years is that a Youth Hostel’s wardens are its heart and soul. What has changed, however, is that they are now referred to as managers rather than wardens, plus a few other things: in the past, Youth Hostel wardens had to be a married couple, they had to live at the hostel and had to be able to play at least one musical instrument. Obviously, today’s job requirements are much less restrictive. Youth Hostel managers come from the most varied of backgrounds: they are former teachers, pilots, wholesale agents or even former music TV presenters. What they all have in common is the passion for their job and the conviction with which they make sure that the idea of Youth Hostels continues to come to life every day, 111 years after its creation.

Activities and programmes: DJH stands by its values

One of the aims behind Richard Schirrmann’s idea, apart from providing youngsters who were exploring the countryside on foot with a simple and inexpensive place to stay for the night, was teaching them about the great outdoors they were venturing into and raising awareness for the environment, the vegetation and wildlife around them. This educational aspect of the hostelling idea is one that the Youth Hostels continue to take just as seriously as its other values – tolerance, international understanding and open-mindedness – today, 111 years later. Of course, Germany’s 450 DJH hostels have much more to offer in terms of activities than the classic environmental education schemes. Guests are spoilt for choice, with over 2,000 different programmes and offers centred on topics such as culture, sports, environment protection, nutrition or music. There are Youth Hostels, for instance, that have their own sailing school, recording studio, circus tent or treetop walk. Many Youth Hostels today have specialised on a specific profile and cater, for example, to families, sports groups, choirs or international backpackers – and of course, even in 2020, every DJH Youth Hostel is an ideal place for class trips, children’s groups or group holidays for teenagers.